District I
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
The following report is about the 2024 Massport STEM Expo, hosted in partnership with the FAA and held at Logan Airport in the Delta hangar on May 23. Edward Cormier, from FAA’s Aviation & Space Education Division, invited us to participate in this and other STEM events.
Three district associate vice presidents (AVPs), Daren Hudson, Doug Thompson, Steve Brehm, and I arrived before 6 a.m. to set up our exhibit area with banners, posterboards, flight simulators, a 42-inch monitor for promotional videos and slides, AMA district informational handouts, and a variety of RC aircraft to display.
The show was well organized and included 41 exhibitor setups, coffee and muffins for presenters, bus arrivals of 2,071 students from 48 schools, and an excellent lunch for the presenters.
Before the students arrived, we had time to talk with other exhibitors about their displays. The electric airplane from Beta Technology that was on the tarmac blew away every other show display.
For us, the flight simulators drew the most activity, and the model aircraft the most questions, allowing us to engage hundreds of students and teachers about the value of AMA and how model building or flying skills often lead to future STEM careers in aviation and technologies.
The number of STEM jobs is growing twice as fast as non-STEM careers, with a projected 11,278,700 positions available by 2030. We look forward to other STEM events to expose more students to career opportunities.
